…Demand details of NNPC, other agencies’ outstanding remittances
By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to provide details of outstanding revenues owed to the Federal Government by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other government agencies.
The committee also demanded explanations over the alleged withdrawal of N15 billion from the account of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and similar deductions from the accounts of other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The directives were issued on Monday when the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Shamseldeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, appeared before the committee during an investigative hearing.
Raising concerns over revenue remittances, a member of the committee, Hon. Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, said Nigeria’s low revenue-to-GDP ratio remained a major challenge and questioned the level of compliance by revenue-generating agencies.
He called for details of operating surpluses and outstanding remittances from agencies including the CBN, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Responding, the Director of Revenue and Investment at the OAGF, Makinde Mogaji, disclosed that the CBN owes the Federal Government N5.3 trillion in unremitted operating surplus.
According to him, despite efforts by the Public Accounts Committee to recover the funds, the apex bank had yet to remit the money.
“CBN is owing the Federal Government N5.3 trillion in operating surplus and despite efforts to recover the money, it has not been paid,” he said.
Mogaji added that other agencies, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), had made remittances, with FAAN paying N473 billion.
On the issue of automatic deductions from MDAs’ accounts, the Accountant-General said the mechanism was introduced to enable the government access revenues in advance.
“That was an ingenious way of taking in advance what is due to government and it enabled us to generate significant revenue last year,” Ogunjimi said.
He, however, disclosed that some agencies resisted the deductions and sought reversals, with some securing reductions or outright cancellation of the deductions.
He also accused the NNPCL of failing to cooperate with the process.
“NNPC refused totally to cooperate to the extent that they had to be walked out because of their non-compliance,” he said.
The committee also questioned the legality of deductions from statutory funds belonging to agencies such as UBEC and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).
PAC Chairman, Hon. Bamidele Salam, said UBEC had complained of a N16 billion shortfall and an additional N15 billion deducted from its account and yet to be refunded.
He noted that several agencies had alleged that funds meant for their statutory responsibilities were being diverted by the OAGF.
In response, Ogunjimi admitted that the government sometimes borrows idle funds from agencies to meet critical obligations.
“We analyse how long these funds have remained unutilised. If government needs funding, we take the money and refund it when the agency requires it,” he said, adding that over N300 billion borrowed from TETFund had been fully refunded.
However, Salam faulted the practice, arguing that agencies such as UBEC require the funds to execute critical mandates, including tackling Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis through the provision of educational infrastructure and learning materials.
He insisted that the committee would continue its investigation into the alleged unauthorised deductions and outstanding refunds to affected agencies.
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